See my SQL-only BLOG at http://blogs.mssqltips.com/blogs/chadboyd Chadhoc.net - Ramblings of all kinds of SQL Server, Clustering, SSIS, Storage, Windows Server, maybe some Powershell, etc. related tasks

Automate a Database Restore

by chad 7/29/2008 10:16:00 PM
It's quite common to see automated/custom procedures for backing up a database/log - nearly everywhere I go companies have custom backup procedures and processes to handle backups, logging of backups, naming standards, locations, etc. However, it's rare that I find processes/procedures in ... [More]

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Installing Clustered SQL Servers - Outline, Checklists, Document Sheets

by chad 6/30/2008 3:02:39 AM
A high percentage of my interactions with clients revolve around clustering SQL Server in some manner or another - could be to review a high-availability solution, could be to stand up a new clustered instance of SQL, could be to troubleshoot a system that is having stability issues, etc. In all cas... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - Transaction Logging Enhancements

by chad 5/21/2008 3:32:00 AM
Given some of the "larger" features being introduced with Sql 2008 which are getting lots of coverage and attention (understandably so), there are actually quite a few "smaller" features that are included which will provide a great deal of benefit to SQL Server users everywhere... [More]

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SSD and SQL - Fragmentation Impact

by chad 4/7/2008 5:39:00 PM
In the last post on Solid State and it's impact on SQL Server operations, we looked at a variety of different IO patterns and sizes on multiple systems to see where and when SSD would help out and when it wouldn't. If you read the post and analyzed the data, you could clearly see the huge ... [More]

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Partitioning Data for Query Performance - Where's the benefit?

by chad 3/19/2008 5:00:00 PM
I spend a lot of time interfacing with SQL engineers of all types (developers, dba's, architects, ETL engineers, etc.) and something I hear very frequently is "I want to horizontally partition my data to improve my query response times to customers". This usually makes me follow up t... [More]

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SSD and SQL - SQLIO performance

by chad 3/16/2008 6:36:00 PM
Let's start the SSD blogs off with a comparison of the SQLIO tool running on my laptop and compare the results to some other traditional spindle based systems. First, let's outline the systems we'll be comparing throughout the SSD blogs: First, my laptop. This is a loaded De... [More]

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SSD and Me

by chad 3/12/2008 9:15:00 PM
I recently purchased 2 laptops with Solid State Drives in them (my loaded Dell XPS 1330 and my wife's Apple MacBook Air), and I have to say, I will never, ever again own a computer that doesn't have a Solid State Drive in it (at least not until they make something even better). These sucke... [More]

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Custom Index Defrag / Rebuild Procedures

by chad 3/9/2008 12:07:00 PM
I often get asked for custom procedures to help with index maintenance, including things  such as reorganizing, rebuilding, stats updates, etc. There are quite a variety of these out there today (a simple google search will get you a bunch), and all have their pros/cons. The big thing I gener... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #8 - Hands On Experience

by chad 3/1/2008 3:33:00 PM
In our final stop for the fragmentation series we're going to walk through a complete script that will cover almost everything we've discussed in the series, including: New object creation and allocation (heaps, clustered, non-clustered indexes) Impact of parallel operations vs. ... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #7 - How to address it

by chad 2/23/2008 11:14:00 AM
In our 2nd to last post in the Fragmentation series, we'll discuss our options on addressing and removing/correcting fragmentation. In our next and final post in the series, we'll end with a full-fledged SQL script that will walk you through all the different things we've talked about ... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #6b - Custom Detection Procedure, Page Linkage

by chad 2/22/2008 5:39:00 PM
In post #6 of the series, I mentioned that I often get asked for alternative methods of looking at fragmentation, a way to view the page chain or linkage, and ways to get insight into which pages are out of order in a given structure. There is nothing super graceful to be honest, but you can make ... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #6 - How to detect it

by chad 2/22/2008 5:11:00 PM
In our 6th post in the fragmentation series (I now know we are going to have 8 total) we are going to talk about the different ways to determine if you have fragmentation, and what type of fragmentation you have. This type of analysis will help you determine if you are being impacted by it for you... [More]

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Fragmentation Station #5 - What it impacts (performance), and what it doesn't

by chad 2/18/2008 12:14:00 AM
In post #4 in the series, we talked about ways to avoid each type of fragmentation - in this 5th post in the series we'll discuss how each type of fragmentation impacts performance, what to expect in terms of impacted operations, and when you possibly might not see any impact from fragmentatio... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #4 - How to avoid it

by chad 2/14/2008 9:51:00 AM
In the prior post, we discussed the major causes for each type of fragmentation, which followed posts covering storage basics and access methods and what fragmentation is and the types there are. In this 4th post in in the series, we'll discuss what can be done to avoid each type of fragmentat... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #3 - What causes it

by chad 2/7/2008 5:32:00 PM
In the prior post (http://chadhoc.net/post/2008/01/Fragmentation-Station---Stop-2---What-it-is%2c-what-types-there-are.aspx), we got through discussing the different types of fragmentation, and showed some diagrams of what they would conceptually look like under the covers. In this 3rd post, we... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #2 - What it is, what types there are

by chad 1/25/2008 2:43:00 PM
In the prior post (http://blogs.mssqltips.com/blogs/chadboyd/archive/2007/11/12/fragmentation-station-stop-1-storage-basics-and-access-methods.aspx), we discussed some basics around storage structures and access methods that will play a key role in understanding the effects of fragmentation as we ... [More]

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Site comments

by chad 1/25/2008 2:39:00 PM
After having to try and figure out why my site was having issues, I removed a comment from one of my prior posts and voila, success. Given that, I've disabled comments for good for now, so the site will stay up and I can continue writing and receiving emails. Hopefully a fix for the issue will... [More]

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Fragmentation Station - Stop #1 - Storage basics and Access Methods

by chad 11/27/2007 2:17:00 PM
Lots of times I get customers and non-customers talking about fragmentation - everything from what it is, to how it impacts performance, to what objects can be fragmented, to how to check for fragmentation. Quite often (almost always) the discussion inevitably includes lots of points that are not ... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - MERGE - More than UPSERT (more advanced uses)

by chad 11/1/2007 2:20:00 PM
So, more than likely almost everyone has already heard that Sql 2008 will introduce a MERGE syntax, making it much easier to deal with scenarios where you need to perform 'upsert' type logic (i.e., you have a source data set and you want to put records from that source set into a target se... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - consume output from OUTPUT (directly)

by chad 10/31/2007 12:08:00 PM
Most of you are aware that Sql Server 2005 introduced the OUTPUT clause, which provided functionality to stream records affected by a write-based statement (i.e. insert/update/delete) into a table variable, which you could then use for other purposes (perhaps to log, or to archive data from a non-... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - Group By Sets

by chad 10/31/2007 11:28:00 AM
With Sql 2008 (in the current CTP you have in your hand), thanks to a new extension to the group by clause referred to as 'grouping sets', you now have the ability to use sets of grouping columns in your group by clauses, allowing you to define basically multiple groupings in the same sing... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - The List of New Features

by chad 10/31/2007 11:28:00 AM
So, I've been getting quite a few pings about providing a list of new features to look for in Katmai (Sql 2008) and/or those that I'll be either blogging about and/or presenting on at the DC area groups I mentioned here: http://blogs.msdn.com/chadboyd/archive/2007/07/18/katmai-sql-server-2... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - Data Compression (including Backup Compression)

by chad 10/31/2007 11:27:00 AM
This post will cover an initial overview of the data compression feature that will be included in Sql Server 2008, and I'll also cover briefly some information on the Backup Compression feature as well (note that these are 2 totally separate and distinct features, since they are very different... [More]

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Katmai (Sql 2008) - Inline variable initialization and Compound assignment

by chad 10/31/2007 11:26:00 AM
In Sql 2008 (Katmai), a couple of the 'smaller' features that are currently in the latest CTP include inline variable initialization and compound assignment (something you App Dev folks have had for years). So, the following types of code now work in Sql 2008:   declare @d date... [More]

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PAE and /3GB and AWE oh my...

by chad 10/31/2007 11:25:00 AM
Many customers (and non-customers) are often confused about all the different memory configurations and options available on 32bit systems (64bit systems do not have so many considerations thanks to the large flat memory space and a VAS size of 16 terabytes as of my typing this)...so, here's a... [More]

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About the author, Chad


Chad is an Architect, Administrator, and Developer with technologies such as Sql Server (and all related technologies), Windows Server, and Windows Clustering. He currently works with Gratis Internet Inc., an online marketing firm based in Washington, DC (www.gratisinternet.com), and also spends a significant amount of time writing, talking, presenting and blogging about Sql Server in the local DC area and online at mssqltips.com and his personal site, chadhoc.net. In the past, Chad has worked with companies and organizations such as Microsoft Corporation and The American Red Cross, and provided consulting/support services at companies such as Bank of America, HP, Citigroup, Qualcomm, Scottrade, TJX, SunTrust, and Zurich Financial Services. For over 2 years with Microsoft Corporation Chad was responsible for providing onsite and remote support, guidance, and advice with SQL Server products to some of Microsoft’s foremost enterprise customers running the largest, most complex SQL Server installations and configurations in the world. This included all SQL Server products and versions, including SQL Server 7.0, 2000, and 2005, the SQL Server database engine, Reporting Services, SSIS/DTS, Notification Services, and Analysis Services on both 32 and 64 bit systems. Chad's primary responsibilities today include troubleshooting critical server situations, performance tuning and monitoring, disaster recovery planning and execution, architectural guidance for new Sql Server related deployments, and delivering deep technical workshops/presentations/proof-of-concept sessions covering a variety of technologies and functionality.

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